State Long On Needs, Short On Funds

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Oklahoma legislators who want to increase funding for schools, public safety and other state programs will find themselves short on money to do so as the 2014 session opens on Monday.

Budget projections show the Legislature already will have about $170 million less to spend on state programs in the next fiscal year, and that doesn’t include plans to further cut the state’s income tax and continue tax breaks for certain types of oil and gas drilling.

Meanwhile, the list of state funding needs is long: child welfare, overcrowded prisons, underpaid teachers and state workers, and a crumbling state Capitol.

Governor Mary Fallin will outline her proposal for a balanced budget on Monday that will include a cut to the state’s income tax.